I'll Be Gone

"I'll Be Gone"
Song by Linkin Park
from the album Living Things
Working title:	Primo
Recorded:	2008 - 2012
Length:	03:31
Stems:	Stagelight: Linkin Park Edition (Primo)
Time signature:	4/4
Tempo:	70
Key:	A Minor
Writer:	Linkin Park
Producer:	Mike Shinoda, Rick Rubin
Label:	Warner Bros.
Living Things tracklist
Lost In The Echo In My Remains Burn It Down Lies Greed Misery I'll Be Gone Castle Of Glass Victimized Roads Untraveled Skin To Bone Until It Breaks Tinfoil Powerless

"I'll Be Gone" (stylized as "I'LL BE GONE") is the fifth track off of Linkin Park's fifth studio album, Living Things, and the third promotional single from the album to be released. The track was added to KROQ's playlists on December 5, 2012, and peaked at number 26 on the UK Rock charts. The song features string work done by Owen Pallett, who is well known for working with Arcade Fire.

Background

Mike Shinoda has mentioned how the imagery of "I'll Be Gone", a relationship-based track, has metaphors of space and intergalactic travel, which made the track stick out to him more.

Brad said about "I'll Be Gone" (translated from English to another language and back to English) - "A long time ago, we wanted to work with some young artists who have a similar style with electronics and with rock bands. Then Rick Rubin came to the studio and said to us, "Guys, listen to this guy named Owen, I work with Arcade Fire." We called Owen, he came to the studio, and the result was "I'll Be Gone", maybe one of the best songs on the album."

Shinoda also talked about how hard of a song "I'll Be Gone" was to write, stating that there were lots of revisions of the track over the course of a year. This is likely due to the song starting during the A Thousand Suns sessions, under the name "Primo". This version of the song was released on LP Underground XIII, which contained track-by-track commentary done by Shinoda. In this commentary, he said "Although we opted for a different final direction for "I'LL BE GONE", I always loved this longer version of the song. I think this is a good example of how a different structure and arrangement can totally change the vibe of the song. Plus, this has a different chorus."

Demo ("Primo")

The demo for "I'll Be Gone", titled, "Primo" was released on the LP Underground XIII CD in November 2013. Over the years, the song has gone on to become one of, if not the most popular, demos of a released song by Linkin Park.

On November 14, 2013, Linkin Park announced LP Underground XIII, saying, "The most intimate content that LPU members have access to is the music. LINKIN PARK has been releasing EPs of unfinished songs, demos, and unreleased material since 2001 via the LPU. For the 13th year of the LPU, LINKIN PARK presents the LPU XIII CD, a collection of demos, unfinished songs and 2 additional tracks created by LPU members and produced by the band." They included "Primo" immediately for all fans, before the November 18th launch date. The band uploaded the track to Soundcloud for its debut.

The announcement read, "We wanted to give everyone a sneak peak of the LPU XIII CD. Premiering "Primo [I'LL BE GONE - LONGFORM 2010 DEMO]", an early demo of LINKIN PARK's "I'LL BE GONE" off the studio album LIVING THINGS."

A note from Mike Shinoda on the track: Although we opted for a different final direction for “I’LL BE GONE,” I always loved this longer version of the song. I think this is a good example of how a different structure and arrangement can totally change the vibe of a song. Plus, this has a different chorus... - Mike Shinoda / LINKIN PARK

In June 2020 when asked why the band released "I'll Be Gone" instead of "Primo", Mike said, "Primo was a version. So every song, just like these, has like a working title, like a rough title, a demo title. And Primo was the working title/demo title of what became I'll Be Gone. That long version of Primo was basically, that was a long epic version of what that song could sound like. As I recall, we went down this path and then the guys kind of didn't want to do that with the song, and then we went over here. What would always happen is I would bring in a demo... generally, there are tons of exceptions to this rule, but, the general process in very loose terms would be the following, especially in later years - generally I would bring in a demo of a song and play it for the guys and a lot of times I would sing the parts that would be Chester's parts and they weren't finished or or whatever. Sometimes they'd be completely changed, other times it was like almost exactly the thing, he would just sing it. Other times I left blank spots where I would want him to write something, or I would want us to write something together. So I'd bring in the track as complete as I could at that point, and then the band would listen to my most recent demos. Sometimes, in the beginning of an album process, I'd have a lot of them. I might have 25 things and I'd be like, "Ok here's what I'm starting with. What do you like or what do you not like?" And they would give... on some albums, they would rate them from one to five or A through F or whatever, they'd give it some kind of rating. Other ones it was, "I like this" or "I don't like this - here's some loose criticisms and things I like and don't like." And then I'd go back on the ones that everyone agreed had the most promise. We'd do that on a Monday, I'd spend that day and the rest of the week improving those songs. Brad would be in there some of that time. And the other guys would show up if they felt like they had something to contribute, or they were curious about how things were going, or if I called them in, like if I said, "Rob I need you to come in and play drums on this thing" or whatever. We'd do that every week or two. So we'd vote on them again and we'd repeat that process until the record was done. So that's basically the format. It gives you a sense of how demos like Primo existed. And they changed over time, because the guys were like, "I like this" or "I don't like this.""

Mike again talked about "Primo" in February 2021 on Twitch, saying, "Favorite demo that turned into a song... I mean dude there were some demos that there was real merit in the actual demo that we ended up going in a different direction with the final. You guys remember 'Primo', that whole situation with 'I'll Be Gone'? 'Primo' was a GOOD demo. And we ended up doing the song called 'I'll Be Gone' out of it, but the demo version of 'Primo' is pretty great. Part of me thinks that maybe we should have gone that direction. But it was a vote, six guys vote and that's what you do with it. And I'll tell you... typical band dynamic: if Joe were to watch this, then he would be like, "The demo was better, I told you so." That's a typical Joe response to that. He wouldn't say it in those words, he'd say it in much more snarky words. But I would agree with that. I think the demo of 'Primo' had better bones than the thing we released, in my opinion. At the time, I would have voted for the 'I'll Be Gone' version, but now I think that was... I think the other version might have been better. But I don't know, we'll never know."

Remix

"I'll Be Gone" got two official remixes, both of which were released on the band's second remix album, Recharged, one done by Vice and the other done by Schoolboy. Vice's remix of the song features new verses by Mike Shinoda and Pusha T.

Versions

Note: Only the date of the very first release of each version is listed.

Studio

Title	Album	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
I'll Be Gone	Living Things	3:31	2012	June 20, 2012	Features string arrangements by Owen Pallett.
Primo (I’ll Be Gone - Longform 2010 Demo)	LP Underground XIII	5:57	2010	November 12, 2013	Released through LP Underground's official SoundCloud account before the LPU CD came out. The LP Underground XIII CD was released on November 18, 2013.
I'll Be Gone (Instrumental)	Living Things (Acapellas and Instrumentals)	3:32	2012	September 11, 2012	Official instrumental version.
I'll Be Gone (Acapella)	Living Things (Acapellas and Instrumentals)	2:59	2012	September 11, 2012	Official acapella version. There's a glitch at 2:18.

Remix

Title	Album	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
I'll Be Gone (Vice Remix feat. Pusha T)	Recharged	4:00	2013	October 24, 2013	Remix by DJ Vice. Features vocals by Pusha T.
I'll Be Gone - DJ Vice Remix feat. Pusha T	Living Things Remixes	4:12	2013		Remix by DJ Vice. Features vocals by Pusha T. "I'll be gone" from Chester at 03:12 (Recharged time) is longer. Cut ending.
I'll Be Gone (Schoolboy Remix)	Recharged	6:11	2013	October 24, 2013	Remix by Schoolboy.
I'll Be Gone - Schoolboy Remix	Living Things Remixes	6:16	2013		Remix by Schoolboy. More audible effects. 5 secs of silence at the end.

Live

During an LPU chat in December 2012, Chester said the band had rehearsed "I'll Be Gone" for the upcoming tour, but they ultimately ended up never playing it. This makes "I'll Be Gone" one of the few songs that was rehearsed but not played.

While not a traditional live performance, Mike performed the first few lines of his verse from the Vice remix on a livestream over a beat he made. After the first few lines, he forgot how the verse went and stopped.

Lyrics

Album Version

Like shining oil this night is dripping down
Stars are slipping down
Glistening
And I'm trying not to think what I'm leaving now
No deceiving now
It's time you let me know
Let me know
 
When the lights go out and we open our eyes
Out there in the silence I'll be gone
I'll be gone
Let the sun fade out and another one rise
Climbing through tomorrow I'll be gone
I'll be gone
 
This air between us is getting thinner now
Into winter now
Bittersweet
And 'cross that horizon this sun is setting down
You're forgetting now
It's time you let me go
Let me go
 
When the lights go out and we open our eyes
Out there in the silence I'll be gone
I'll be gone
Let the sun fade out and another one rise
Climbing through tomorrow I'll be gone
I'll be gone
 
And tell them I couldn't help myself
And tell them I was alone
Oh / tell me I am the only one
And there's nothing that can stop me
 
When the lights go out and we open our eyes
Out there in the silence I'll be gone
I'll be gone
Let the sun fade out and another one rise
Climbing through tomorrow I'll be gone
I'll be gone
I'll be gone

Primo

Like shining oil this night is dripping down
Night is dripping down
Glistening
And I'm trying not to think of what I'm leaving now
'Cause I'm leaving now
It's time you let me go
Let me go
 
'Till then carry on and miss me when I'm gone
Oh, don't let anyone give you away
Just carry on and miss me when I'm gone
Oh, don't let anyone take my place
Take my place
 
This air between us is getting thinner now
Getting thinner now
Bittersweet
'cross that horizon this sun is setting now
Slowly setting now
It's time you let me go
Let me go
 
'Till then carry on and miss me when I'm gone (Oh)
Oh, don't let anyone give you away (Oh)
Just carry on and miss me when I'm gone (Oh, oh)
Oh, don't let anyone take my place (Oh, oh)
Take my place
 
Just carry on and miss me when I'm gone
Oh, don't let anyone give you away
Just carry on and miss me when I'm gone (Oh, oh)
Oh don't let anyone take my place (Oh, oh)
Take my place
 
Tell them I couldn't help myself
And tell them I was alone
Tell them I was the only one
And there's nothing that can stop me
From going home
 
Tell them I couldn't help myself
And tell them I was alone
Oh, tell them I was the only one
And there's nothing that can stop me
From going home
 
I'm coming home
From going home
I'm going home
 
Oh, tell them I was the only one
And there's nothing that can stop me
From going home

Vice Remix

Like shining oil, this night is dripping down
Stars are slipping down, glistening
And I’m trying not to think what I’m leaving now
No deceiving now, it’s time you let me go
Let me go

I’ll be gone!
I’ll be gone!

King Push
Dope game keep callin'
Dope boys keep fallin'
Askin' me "What's my legacy?"
I just wanna die ballin'
I just wanna die pourin'
I just wanna ride foreign
I just wanna bring hoes together
Lonny, Lisa, meet Lauren (Wooo!)
Then I be gone, keep it movin', what I be on
Damn right I know what time it is
Patek Philippe and the Tourbillion (Yuugh!)
I'm stylin' on 'em, I'm swervin' on 'em
I know it's wrong, but life's a bitch and she turn me on!

Yeah, and to each his own
Hatin' ain’t something that we condone
Is the way I flip when the beat come on
I gonna pop that shit 'til your speakers blown
And y'all wanna cop a plea
Who you gon' talk to? Not to me
Because the chain of command work properly
You gotta earn a few stripes 'til you talk to me
Word to Pusha, word to Vice
Built a track once and killed it twice
Built a stage up and killed the lights
Opening act was like "Fuck my life"
Y'all can love it, ain’t nothing wrong
Forget the hatin' that y'all be on
Enjoy it now because after long
Keyser Söze, I'll be gone

I’ll be gone!
I’ll be gone!

When the lights go out and we open our eyes
Out there in the silence, I’ll be gone
I’ll be gone
Let the sun fade out and another one rise
Climbing through tomorrow, I’ll be gone
I’ll be gone

When the lights go out and we open our eyes
Out there in the silence, I’ll be gone
I’ll be gone
I'll be gone

I’ll be gone
I’ll be gone
I’ll be gone

Schoolboy Remix

Like shining oil this night is dripping down
Stars are slipping down, glistening
And I'm trying not to think what I'm leaving now
No deceiving now
It's time you let me know
Let me know

When the lights go out and we open our eyes
Out there in the silence
I'll be gone
I'll be gone
Let the sun fade out and another one rise
Climbing through tomorrow
I'll be gone
I'll be gone

I'll be gone
I'll be gone
I'll be gone

This air between us is getting thinner now
Into winter now, bittersweet
And cross that horizon, this sun is setting down
And you're forgetting now
It's time you let me go
Let me go

When the lights go out and we open our eyes
Out there in the silence
I'll be gone
I'll be gone
Let the sun fade out and another one rise
Climbing through tomorrow
I'll be gone
I'll be gone

And tell them I couldn't help myself
And tell them I was alone
Oh, tell me I am the only one
And there's nothing that can stop me (I'll be gone)

I'll be gone
I'll be gone